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Aeolian

1 American  
[ee-oh-lee-uhn] / iˈoʊ li ən /

adjective

  1. pertaining to Aeolus, or to the winds in general.

  2. Usually aeolian of or caused by the wind; windblown.

Aeolian 2 American  
[ee-oh-lee-uhn] / iˈoʊ li ən /
Or Eolian

adjective

  1. Also belonging to a nation of people in ancient Greece named after Aeolus, its legendary founder.

  2. (lowercase) noting or pertaining to sand or rock material carried or arranged by the wind.

noun

  1. a member of one of the four main divisions of the prehistoric Greeks.

  2. Aeolic.

aeolian 1 British  
/ iːˈəʊlɪən /

adjective

  1. of or relating to the wind; produced or carried by the wind

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Aeolian 2 British  
/ iːˈəʊlɪən /

noun

  1. a member of a Hellenic people who settled in Thessaly and Boeotia and colonized Lesbos and parts of the Aegean coast of Asia Minor

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. of or relating to this people or their dialect of Ancient Greek; Aeolic

  2. of or relating to Aeolus

  3. denoting or relating to an authentic mode represented by the ascending natural diatonic scale from A to A: the basis of the modern minor key See also Hypo-

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
aeolian Scientific  
/ ē-ō′lē-ən /

  1. See eolian

Etymology

Origin of Aeolian1

First recorded in 1595–1605; Aeoli(us) pertaining to Aeolus + -an adjective suffix; -an

Origin of Aeolian2

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin Aeoli(ī), (from Greek Aioleîs “the Aeolians,” with change of suffix) + -an

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“We are all for goats running free, but let’s be clear: These aren’t Heidi’s kid goats,” said Carolina Barnao, a council member in neighboring Lipari, which administers its fellow Aeolian islands.

From New York Times • May 27, 2024

Experts at navigating the steep landscape of Alicudi, in the Aeolian archipelago north of Sicily, the goats have become a problem as they damage gardens and allotments.

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2024

At first we turned to nature: The Aeolian harps found across ancient civilizations required only the intervention of the wind to share their song.

From Washington Post • Feb. 16, 2023

The Italian coastguard is struggling to free a sperm whale caught up in illegal fishing netting off the coast of one of Sicily’s Aeolian islands.

From The Guardian • Jul. 20, 2020

This is an example of Aeolian mode in the American folk song “Aeolian Lullaby.”

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.